membership brings out millions of us on small business saturday and every day to make shopping small huge. this is what membership is. this is what membership does. developing now. a joint news conference with president obama. >> expanding trade relations between our two countries we are, in essence, shifting from disinvestment to reinvestments. in the era of freedom and democracy. mr. president, you are visiting africa at the right time. africa is rising.

it is the second fastest growing region and has become a market for investment. that's what you launched last year. well-timed to take advantage of this growing market. we already see immense value in our strategic partnerships such as ipsa and look forward to strengthening the u.s./africa partnership. we are pleased with the growing bilateral trade and investment that 600 u.s. companies in south

africa, which have created in excess of 150,000 jobs. the u.s. is also a major export market for south african products. south africa, in turn, is your biggest market in africa, accounting for more than 7 billion u.s. dollars. we have found the need for the extension of the african growth and opportunity act which expires in 2015. our initial trade has reached the levels preceding the global recession largely due to the act. arising out of this visit we

would like to see increased investment in the south african economy for mutual benefit. we have placed on the table bankable projects which range from infrastructure development to skills development for the youth and also across a number of sectors like information and communication technologies, agriculture, and the economy. with these investments should be the drive for declaration, industrialization and localization of supply and

manufacture. mr. president, youth development is a key forecast area for south africa given that a third of our population is under the age of 15. this is a key feature of a national development plan. therefore we welcome education, especially the school capacity and innovation program as well as investment in primary education and teacher training. it is also our wish to extend corporation on vocational training to develop our further education and training. we are in the area of defense

under the auspices of the south africa/u.s. defense training and services in crime fighting. we have loaded the successful health corporation under the u.s. president emergency plan for aids relief fund to go address hiv and aids and other infectious diseases which has contributed to the successes and increase in life expectancy. on promoting the african agenda, we reaffirm our commitment to strengthening democratic governance and advancing the protection of human rights on the continent.

we would like to cooperate with the u.s. in enhancing peace building and construction and development corporation. under the umbrella of the united nations and the african union. we are concerned about the mushrooming of rebel movements in some countries in the continent at a time when the au is promoting adherence to its policy of zero tolerance for people who come to office through unconstitutional means. this is a threat to peace in many countries on the continent. mr. president, we're encouraged

by the sell gas station of sanctions in zimbabwe by the u.s. government and add further steps in this regard as it will strengthen the economy of zimbabwe. we are hopeful that the african union, with the support of the international community, will find solutions to the challenges we face in the democratic republic of con tkpoe and central africa and somalia, solutions that are african-led will be able to yield results. the problems in this region arise primarily from the manner in which the u.n. security council handled the libyan

situation. there are lessons to be learned in the episode. we have talked about this in our meeti meeting, mr. president. mr. president, south africa remains concerned at the lack of progress in the mideast process. at the same time we are of the view that a lasting peace in the middle east would not be possible without addressing the

other ongoing conflicts in the region which are a source of much -- of much insecurity and instability. we are encouraged by the positive steps you have taken, mr. president, to elect longstanding restrictions on cuba. i further edge you, mr. president, in light of the economic and financial challenges in the u.s. and in the eurozone to encourage traditional supporters, not to abandon their pledges to africa. let me also add that the reform of the united nations security council is long overdue and remains high priority to south

africa, the african continent and the developing world as a whole. finally, mr. president, i wish to reiterate south africa's commitment to the relationship with the usa. i'm happy about your visit which was home to madiba and many freedom fighters in our country for decades. i wish you pleasant and productive stay in south africa for the remainder of your visit we are truly honored to host you, mr. president, and i thank you. i now invite you, mr. president, to address the media. you have the floor. >> well, thank you so much, mr.

president, for your generous words and your kind welcome. it is wonderful to be back in south africa. as you mentioned, i have the pleasure of visiting south africa before when i was a u.s. senator. michelle and our daughters were here just two years ago. we're now thrilled to be back as a family. and i know that the press core, by the way, is happy to be here because this is much more elegant than the white house press room. it's a big improvement. i have to begin, of course, by saying that our thoughts and those of americans and people all around the world are with nelson mandela and his family and all of south africans. the struggle here against apartheid for freedom. madiba's moral courage, this

country's historic transition to a free and democratic nation has been a personal inspiration to me. it has been an inspiration to the world. and it continues to be in so many regions that are divided by conflict, sectarian disputes, religious or ethnic wars to see what happened in south africa, the power of principal and people standing up for what's right i think continues to shine as a beacon. so the outpouring of love that we have seen in recent days shows that the triumph of nelson mandela and this nation speaks to something very deep in the human spirit. the yearning for justice and dig tight that transcends boundaries

of race and country. that's what nelson mandela represents. that's what south africa at its best can represent to the world. and that's what brings me back here on what will be a two-day trip in which i have an opportunity to meet with a whole range of leaders here in south africa. the president and i have enjoyed our company quite a bit in the g20 and at various multilateral forums. usually, unfortunately, when we're meeting there is some crisis going on around the world. we had a more leisurely conversation today. and we both agree that the state of bilateral relations between the united states and south africa are extraordinarily strong. as one of the bricks are of south africa's growth reflects the new realities of the global

economy. and we welcome that. that's one of the reasons why i institutionalized the g20, because it reflects the reality of today's world and today's economy and the need for this continent to be represented in any discussions about the direction of the world economy. so the united states views south africa as a critical partner. and mr. president, i very much appreciate our personal friendship and partnership. as you've noted, africa is on the rise and south africa is always at the forefront of trends in africa. i see south africa as critical to one of my top priorities on this trip, and that is to promote trade and investment that helps unleash economic

growth here in africa and ultimately will benefit the united states of america. we export more products to south africa than any other nation in subsaharan africa. hundreds of companies operate here in south africa. south african companies are investing back in the united states, including my home state of illinois. and as the largest economy in the region, growth here can drive growth all across africa. so i want our countries to be doing more business together. and one of the things that i've said to our press corp.during this trip is all too often attention is only paid to africa when there is a crisis. but in fact, 6 of the 10 largest economies in the world -- 6 of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world is africa. there is aoe normal progress to be made and enormous potential

to be made. but obviously we have a lot more work to do. and i think we can do it better together. today almost all of south africa's exports to the united states, 98% already enter our markets duty free. and i told president zuma that i want to renew but improve and update the african growth and opportunity so we're generating more trade and more jobs. i've got to be able to show american companies that are operating on a level playing field when they invest or are trying to export into south africa. so we're going to make sure that our trade negotiators have a serious conversation about how we get a win-win formula that delivers jobs and opportunity for people here in south africa and also in the united states. our commitment to progress and human dignity extends to our shared efforts to combat hiv/aids. since i took office, we have

continued the good work and we have built on it. so here in south africa we're delivering anti-retro viral treatments to 1.6 million people, which along with our prevention efforts, is help to go save millions of lives. and i want to commend south africa for its outstanding leadership on this issue. within a few years, south africa will become the first country in africa to fully manage its hiv care and treatment program and the united states will focus on prevention and strengthening public health systems. so this is an example of how a one-way street of aid to africa, instead, this is a partnership of equals working together to solve common challenges. that's what we need to see in all areas of endeavor. we're working together to

advance the dignity of all of our citizens. since opportunities for women and girls means greater prosperity for everybody, i'm hopeful that we will be able to welcome south africa to our equal futures partnership. an effort internationally to make sure that every country is committed to developing the possibilities and opportunities for women and for girls. some people know that my mother was involved in international development. she taught me when i was very young you can measure how well a country by how well it treats its women. if it's educating its women and giving them opportunities, they do well. when they don't, that country does not advance. and i believe that. so i also want to commend your parliament for passing a law to combat human trafficking, something that is still a crisis around the world.

this afternoon i'll be in sueto to announce a major expansion of our initiative to invest in the young africans who will shape this country and this continent for decades to come. regionally i want to thank south africa for being a leading voice in the african union, for promoting peace to sudan and south sudan. as the president mentioned, we discussed the situation in jim back way. president zuma played a major role in the mediation efforts. we agreed that the harassment of citizens and groups needs to stop and reforms need to move forward so the people of zimbabwe can cast their votes in elections that are fair, free, and credible. we also discussed the congo where i have assigned a new u.s. envoy to the region. chairman of the african

committee will lead our framework for peace. and we agree all nations could implement that quickly to bring the tragedy of the congo to an end. and finally, as president zuma mentioned, we discussed a range of global challenges. our governments don't agree on every issue. no two countries do. but we have seen the progress that we can make together on nuclear security, on climate change. given south africa's history and what it represents to the world and given the we share as democracies, human rights, dignities of all people. we can stand shoulder to shoulder for issues of security and justice. r and human rights. and i believe when the united states and south africa stand together on an issue in a multilateral forum, it's hard to

resist. it's hard to resist. so president zuma, i want to thank you for welcoming me here today. i want to thank you for the work that we have done together. it is a great joy for me to be visiting and spending time here in south africa. i've had occasion to visit robin island myself. but for me to be able to bring my daughters there and teach them the history of that place and this country and help them to understand not only how those lessons apply to our lives but also to their responsibilities in the future as citizens of the world. that's a great privilege and a great honor. i thank you to all the people of south africa. there is enormous affection and admiration for you in the united states. and i hope that i adequately expressed that during my visit.

>> thank you very much, your excellen excellenceies as we now take questions. >> warm welcomes to both presidents. i will ask the question to both presidents. maybe starting with president obama. you have come to africa, to south africa of course to boost and strengthen trade. perhaps someone is saying, well, the united states is somehow threatened because there are other players who are coming to africa, especially china. is president obama perhaps not threatened that the road is in danger? and the other question, president obama, south africa's bid to u.n. should it come will

the united states support it at the u.n.? to president zuma, as president obama has indicated under african continent and trying to bring his, we have seen some pockets of rebels as you indicated in the congo, mali and elsewhere. what sort of assistance perhaps have you asked from president obama as one of the advanced countries that can help in any areas? thank you. >> well, first of all, i'm here in africa because i think the united states needs to engage in a continent full of promise and possibility. i think it's good for the united states, regardless of what others are doing. i actually welcomed the

attention that africa is receiving from countries like china and brazil and india and turkey. because, number one, the more interest they show in africa the more tools we have and mechanisms we have to further in corporate africa into the global economy, which has the potential of creating jobs and businesses and opportunity. so threatened by it. i think it's a good thing. now, i do think that it's important for africans to make sure these interactions are good for africa. because -- let me just take the issue of natural resources. there's been a long history of extracting resources from africa.

you take raw materials and send them to someplace elsewhere they get used, processed and sometimes sold back to africa. profits stay there, the jobs stay there, and not much stays in africa. there's a long history of that. well, the truth is the united states at this point on issues of energy, for example, frankly, we don't need energy from africa. because of advances that have been made, we're seeing oil production and natural gas production as well as clean energy production all growing at a rapid rate in the united states. so our primary interest when it comes to working with africa on energy issues has to do with how do we power africa so it can be an effective market creating jobs and opportunity to africa. but then we also then have somebody to trade with and sell

ipods to and airplanes and all kinds of good stuff. so when we look at what other countries are doing in africa, i think our only advice is make sure it's a good deal for africa. somebody says they want to come build something here, are they hiring african workers? somebody says they want to help you develop your natural resources, how much of the money is staying in africa? if they say they're very interesting in a certain

industry, is the manufacturing and value added done in africa? are they tolerating corruption that's not benefiting the people but just benefiting a few at the top in their interactions with african countries. those are the questions africa should be asking. hopefully one of the things we can do in our interactions as a country that doesn't have a colonial history here, as a country that has made large investments in development on issues like hiv/aids, hopefully we can garner some trust when people ask us what are the kinds of development strategies that will be sustaining over the long term. but, as i said, i want everybody playing in africa. the more the merrier.

that is good. it gives africans leverage, which i think is useful. but, again, ask those questions. don't just assume that folks come here and they are automatically benefiting africans. and that includes the united states. ask questions in terms of what we do. with respect to the united nations, president zuma and i discussed the fact that just as i wanted to institutionalize the g20 because it's more reflective of the world, i think the united nation's structure is going to have to be updated. how we do that, in what fashion, is complicated. it's difficult. and it involves all kinds of politics.

i will say this, that an expansion of let's say the security council that -- in which the continent of africa had no representation would be honored. but how that moves forward is something that i think will involve a lot of negotiations and a lot of discussions. and the one thing that i shared with president zuma is everybody wants a seat at the table. but when it comes time to step up and show responsibility sometimes people want to be free requires. they love sitting around the table and decide what to do, except when it comes to bearing the burdens, bearing the costs, sometimes sharing the blame for difficult decisions that have to be made. then suddenly i'm neutral.

i'm not a lion. don't ask me to -- i'm not referring to south africa particularly. i'm just saying countries general hr general generally like the idea of being part of foras. but one of the things the united states has done. and obviously we're not perfect. but our seat at the table comes by virtue of the fact that we bear a lot of responsibility. if there's a crisis in the world people ask us, what are you doing about it? they ask, why haven't you intervened militarily? you're letting people die. if we intervene militarily they ask, why did you intervene militarily? they ask us to foot the bill. and the expectation is why aren't you footing the bill?

the expectation immediately is, what's the united states doing? we shoulder that burden gladly. we think that's part of our responsibilities. we have been incredibly blessed. but the simple point i make, and i say this everywhere i go, is with rights comes responsibilities and burdens. and it's not always comfortable. and you can't always make everybody happy. it's like being president of a country. >> absolutely. thank you. thank you very much. firstly, the question of africa and its history and the developments globally, i think taken from what they are without assumptions. today we are talking about the

globalized world. if the world is globalizing, why should there be a question about africa, that africa must remain some way when everybody is working together. i think since the end of the cold war the world is working together. there's no kind that is isolated. china has a lot of relations with uk, usa. africa is a recently. why must it be singled out for some views, so to speak? i don't think in my own understanding, much as the question is understandable. but i think it's been unfair to africa. why should we not talk about this one and that one.

i don't think that talks to our acceptance of globalization. africa must be part of globalization. do i think countries that come to interact with africa should be questioned why are you doing it? i think it's -- it is in the nature of globalization that, in fact, africa is saying it can no longer be bypassed by events that change the world. we are part of it. and that's why we relate to the bigger countries, bigger economies. we want the relationship as president obama to say that benefits both. the kind of relations we had with other regions. we're one-sided.

the president is saying that we want localization to be taken into account whoever is trying to make realilations with us so they benefit us. we ourselves is another kind of area. we have said we need to do trade among ourselves, intertrade in the continent of africa. we are putting our five economies of the region together so that we work as a continent together. we are having massive problem in terms of the infrastructure to implement what we are talking about, to create that flow so whoever comes to invest we don't ask are you american or chinese? no. we enter into the relationship that must benefit both. and i'm happy that the united states share that view as well. so that is how these

interactions in so far as the african continent is concerned. we are speaking with one voice. and we are now speaking in one voice as a continent. and that's why we look at those who try to put one country, this, that and the other. we are trying to do them as a unit, as an entity, as a region rather than as individual countries. so that's what is happening. so in regard to hose who come to us that they are coming here because of other reasons that we don't know, we take them genuinely that they are establishing relations that must benefit us who must also appreciate the history of the continent that we come from. why are we lagging behind? what are they doing to help us in terms of the relationship that we have to move forward as well? with regard to the issue of the united nations security council, i, again, agree with the

president that this institution was done in the mid-40s when many countries did not exist. they did not participate in joining the rooms. things have changed. the world is different today. we can't continue with those kind of conditions. it does not reflect the reality of what is happening today. and that's why we believe each and every region must be represented at all levels so that we can be part of decision-making in this internationally important body. the process is important that it is looked at but also should be realistic. because, again, once we say we need that, as a president we say we don't want people who are just going to come and enjoy status. countries must be looked at or regions. why should countries be members of this important body that take

final decision. do they have a contribution to make? what is it that is going to be used as a criteria for countries, individual countries, let alone regions, as to why this particular country must be a member. those are matters i think those that were international security council -- u.n. security obviously. rather, they must begin to discuss those matters. what is it that you are going to say are important criteria to say this country can come so that we help the process? because if big countries are not talking about it you then allow the process to stay there. >> and we have been listen to go a joint news conference with president obama and south african president jacob zuma. he and the first lady to meet members of nelson mandela's family. he and the first lady will be

the honored guest at an official dinner with president zuma. you heard the president say he will visit rodham island. we now take you to the rachel maddow show. the court agreed with him on the idea of the difficulty of having a nonuniform standard, but they made the decision opposite to what he was asking them to do. those decisions, those supreme court decisions this week, ended up putting the u.s. military, members of the u.s. military right in the middle of this now patchwork of legal rights for gay and lesbian couples we have around the country. will the military now be forced to discriminate against some of its soldiers and not against others depending on where a base

is located? if the military is put in that difficult of a position, will the military now be put in the position to at least implicitly drive more states toward equality? joining us now for "the interview" clifford alexander, secretary of the united states army under president carter and chairman of the u.s. equal employment opportunity commission under president johnson. mr. secretary, thank you for being with us again. it's an honor to have you here. >> thank you so much. glad to be with you, rachel. >> the pentagon says it is eager to enforce these civil rights rulings so it can stop discriminating against some service members and their families. do you think it is unusual to have the pentagon speaking to clearly and so quickly on this matter? >> i think it is good that they spoke clearly. i do think that the efficiency that is within the pentagon will see to it that the rules are carried out as they should be carried out. i also believe that it would be a good idea if the civilian side took a hint from the pentagon in terms of the efficiency of

carrying out the many rules and regulations that effect people that shouldn't negatively. i think there are over 1,000 of them within the federal government now. so it would seem to me that it would be very good for the white house to send some orders out to each of the cabinet members with daytime charts on them that say i want to report as to what it is you're doing about such and such. i want it in a few days, not a few weeks, not a few months and i want it changed because it's equitable. >> sorry to interrupt you, sir. i was going to say we have seen some motion in that direction today, initial direction to federal agencies. i think there's going to continue to be a patchwork both in terms of federal accommodation but also in terms of what the practical life is for people living in states that don't recognize rights that the federal government recognizes. >> i do think your point is well taken about the states, 38 states that do not represent -- really will recognize these

rights. but taking that under consideration and there should be well beyond the courts lots of pressures, i think particularly by the media, to talk about the differences in treatment of people. talk about why it is we have a military. it is to give us protections, to give us liberties, to give us all human beings, no matter what their sexual orientation may be, give them each and every one of us our protection and our rights. we don't have that today. we have more than we did before the court acted in this case but don't have where we ought to be. in the meantime, there are still many things that the government can do. you said they're starting to give directions. they need to think of it in a more sense of urgency. not just give a direction, but give a direction with an order at the end of it that says as of a certain point i'd like to see that this regulation is changed appropriately for it to meet the facts. what we have so much, i think,

in the government today, is the kumbaya moment. they love what they've seen. they're excited and they're happy. as we should be. with a little bit more of justice before us. but there is not enough of the followthrough that i think the military does better than our civilian people do, and i think that is a responsibility of the people in the white house to get it started and the cabinet secretaries to continue it and the agency heads to continue it as well. and i think it is the responsibility of the media to check on it every day. not just your program, as you do, but the rest of the media. including fox. >> i'll send them a memo and see if they listen. >> would you? >> let me ask you about previous experience with the military being in advance of parts of the rest of the country on civil rights matters. we have had experience with that as a nation where the military was desegregated, for example, or there were things that were being offered in a meritocratic way that were not reflected

where u.s. bases are located in the states. are there lessons from that history we should be thinking about moving forward? >> my wife is a wonderful historian and wrote a book called "homelands and waterways." in that book, during the civil war, navy people were integrated in their service, integrated. then there was a period after that in the '20s when black people could not hold positions in the u.s. navy. more recently with the truman order and in some of the other changes that have been made more recently, there is much more equity within the military and on a consistent basis than there has been. there are still problems in the military about the administration of justice for people who are minorities, and that, again, is reflected in the civilian society as well. but when you look at overall the military does appear to be a beacon. it is a beacon that occasionally flickers, but it is a beacon. i do think that what we can do is with the military to realize why we have a military. why we have, we are protecting the rights of people.

we want to see that they're fully exercised in all situations which i hope would give our elected representatives in state legislatures and city councils the good sense to change these ridiculous laws that don't allow for marriage as it should be throughout the country. but it is a continuous fight. i mean, i know that there is another area there that the supreme court came out, in my view, on the wrong side, and that was on the voting rights act. where, again, we really do have to be vigilant about what this court is doing. this court, remember, is made up of four feckless, in my view, members of that court who from day on to day out think much more of things than they do of people. and when they did what they did with the voting laws, it's going to require something that is constant on the part of the media, i think, and on the part of legislators, and on the part of the white house to

continually remind the american public that this precious thing we have is a vote. i notice that in one of the opinions by the chief justice, he talked about how he'd look at all these elected black people all over the place. i would only remind him that today there is not a single black elected official in the united states senate and there has not been a single black elected official in the senate since barack obama left it. now, that isn't exactly full inclusion, and i don't think you can point to various parts of this country and pretend that somehow we have solved all of our problems. there's no such thing as post-racial, by the way. that's an american illusion. what it is is an improvement in many areas of our society, and a need for vigilance on the part of all of us about the rights of our fellow human beings. >> clifford alexander, secretary of the united states army under president charter. sir, it is a great honor to have you here. thank you so much. >> thanks for having me again. i appreciate it.

>> he is a man who knows of what he speaks. he was president johnson's civil rights counsel. he was there in person when the voting rights act was signed. we'll be right back. chenoa's looking for an alternative to eating lunch out... walmart has some great lunch options. a meal like this costs less than $4.25 per serving. if you swap out lunch just 3 times per week, over 475 bucks a year. yeah? save on lean cuisine backed by the low price guarantee. walmart.

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however, seeing this little beauty over international waters is enough to bring a traveler to tears. we're putting the wonder back into air travel, one innovation at a time. the new american is arriving. the fourth of july is no time soon. it is not until next thursday. but if you're a legislator, happy fourth of july because it's already started for you. >> the house of representatives convened on friday june 28th at 9:00 a.m. and pursuant to senate concurrent resolution 19, the house adjourned at 12:39 p.m. until monday july 8th, 2013, when it will meet at 2:00 p.m.

thank you. >> i want that job. the house has gotten home. the senate has gone home, and they're not just gone for the weekend. because there is a fourth of july holiday one day toward the end of next week, they're all gone now, and next week, and even the week after that. they're not going to be back until july 8th. it is good to be king, or at least d.c. royalty. there is a big stressful cliffhanger deadline. sunday at midnight this weekend. ohio governor john kasich is going to be sweating at home. when he was first elected in july of 2010, he was a shoot from the mouth kind of guy, looking for a fight, enjoying being in charge and letting everybody know it. >> have you ever been stopped by a policeman who was an idiot? i had this idiot pull me over on 315.

listen to this story, he says to me, he says you passed this emergency vehicle on the side of the road, and you didn't yield. and the last thing i would ever do is be to pass an emergency, are you kidding me? so as i understand it, he gives me a ticket, says you must report to court. if you don't report to court we're putting a warrant out for your arrest. he is an idiot. >> that is how john kasich started off as ohio governor. like maybe he was going to hold a press conference or maybe he was going to pop you in the mouth right there. it is not just the way he talks, he immediately moved to strip union rights in ohio, and he did. and ohio took it right back, absolutely destroying the bill that stripped union rights. they put up sb 5 for a recall and defeated it by 22 points. john kasich came in as this marble mouth, tea party radical. but that brushback made him realize he was going to have to

put on his big boy pants. >> if you're going to bring back massive change that causes great unrest, i have learned this. you know, we won -- you take a look at our record, you go out deep sea fishing, you catch a lot of sharks. once in a while, the shark eats you. >> that was january 2012, and in the year and a half since then, he ride to cultivate a different image. john kasich wants to be seen as less his tea party self and more as wall street self, trying to downplay some of the things he used to relish, because they love that the way rats love cheese, john kasich has earned himself the fawning d.c. press he has always wanted. politico batting their eyelashes at him, calling him quietly competent. on sunday night john kasich faces a deadline on whether he signs the state's new budget. but it is not just to sign or

not sign, he has to look at every situation, because of the line item veto. which is why this happened yesterday at his state capitol. >> line item veto. >> line item veto. >> line item veto. >> those ohio women yelling line item veto at john kasich, because even though they know he is going to sign the budget overall there is some stuff in that budget that they're going to make him famous for if he doesn't x it out line by line, he is the last to x it out if it doesn't become law. on the list, the abortion provisions that the republicans put in without debating it. them just put in to the republican budget, before they passed it on the party line, the only person who gets the thumbs up or down on the abortion list is governor john kasich himself. this is not just the standard menu that they're doing everywhere right now they're being innovative right now.

there's money in the budget for rape crisis centers. ohio has not done it with state funding, they are giving state money to rape crisis centers and giving that money with an accompanying gag order. so if you take any of the state money, the ohio republicans will intervene in the type of counseling that rape victims get at state crisis centers. the state will intervene in the instructions that the victims are allowed to be given to gag the rape crisis counselor from being allowed to tell a rape victim that she can get an abortion. that is what john kasich has to ruminate on this weekend. how does he feel about rape victims and what does he want to do for them after they have been raped. because the legislature has decided the state should give them help in counseling but also the state should intervene to block them from getting some

information that frankly they would really like to have after they have been raped. so have a nice weekend, governor. you also also be considering all the other rape elements the republicans put in the budget. that they called this the most pro life budget in history. is the budget really the place for this stuff? a lot of republicans think so. in the measure they put in one for a forced ultrasound. ohio republicans insist that you have it and that you pay for it. ohio doctors will be forced to give you a speech about the forced ultrasound, whether or not they agree with the speech and think it is in the best interest of their patient. they will give ohio doctors a script that they must read. there is more, ohio's republican budget will also establish a new requirement that clinics have to have transfer agreements with local hospitals. and it would also ban public hospitals from establishing those agreements. so it creates a new thing that clinics have and also says they can't have it.

in case it was not clear enough, the point is to shut down the abortion clinics in the state. for some reason, ohio republicans decided it was also a budgetary matter to redefine the words pregnancy and fetus in ohio state law. they want to define pregnancy as beginning even before implanting it in the uterine lining. lots of contraception works. if you want an iud, that means you want an abortion. and of course there is a mandatory ultrasound before you can get an abortion. if you want to get contraception, maybe a totally normal life as your existence as an adult woman in ohio, welcome to your mandatory vaginal probe at the insistence of the state, even just to keep your iud. seriously? actually nobody knows if that is what they mean, it never really got talked through or explained all that well because it was

never debated. they just added this stuff. they never talked about it. they passed it and through it to john kasich, have a nice weekend, sir, your call, you can decide on each of these as an individual line in the budget that you must okay line by line, again, the deadline is 7 p.m. on sunday night. 11:59 on sunday night. set a google alert and take your blood pressure medication. and in north carolina, where the legislature passed a bill regarding abortion this week, the state government wants to direct teachers to teach that abortion is a health risk that keeps women from bringing other pregnancies to term. and that is not true. according to doctors that is the untrue thing, but north carolina signed that bill to make health teachers say it. and today we learned that governor pat mccrory says he will sign it. when he was elected in december he said he wouldn't sign any new

anti-abortion bills into law. but today he said he would sign the lie to seventh graders in north carolina. also today in alabama, also the republicans there already passed into law, and would like to implement this catch 22 laws that would shut down the clinics in the state. designed to shut down all but the last two clinics in alabama. the law would be set to go into effect on monday, which means the clinics would start to close their doors on monday. well, today, a judge issued a restraining order, saying the law prevents an effect as clinics will constant struggle against closures and to obtain medical staff. such pressure could render the abortion practices in alabama -- a sisyphean effort. he also says, quote, women seeking an abortion will face a substantial new obstacle in

obtaining one and therefore stand to suffer a deprivation of constitutional rights as well as the attendant health risks of obtaining an abortion. the only bright line he sees, it's only a temporary restraining order and the clinics are still in danger of being shut down once the law is fully litigated. for now, they have a temporary reprieve. on monday, 2 p.m. texas time, yet another battle in the war on women, that republicans insist they are not waging will take place in texas, texas will try again to pass that anti-abortion bill that will reduce the number of clinics in the states from 42 to 5. this is the same bill that texas democratic senator wendy davis filibustered it, whether the texas republicans wanted it or not. that all starts on monday, the pro choice rally in texas on monday starts at noon, texas

governor rick perry's special session is starts at 2:00, this battle is raging right now, raging in the states. and it does not take weekends off. right now president obama and south africa president jacob zuma taking reporter questions in south africa. also word obama will meet with nelson mandela's family. california couples are now getting married weeks before expected. also, a life-threatening heat wave is scorching the west. temperatures nearing the 130 mark in some places. a lot on the record for the airline industry. this time it's airline reservation fees. good morning, everyone. hope you're having a